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Friday, August 08, 2014

As mentioned in my last post, my sister (who is also my maid of honor) and I started working out at a new gym called Frank Nash Training Systems. They provide nutritional support, personal strength training sessions, and group classes such as spin, yoga, and my favorite, team conditioning - an intense 30 minute workout.

Here we are 30 days later and feeling stronger than ever. I have been running for the past few years, but I never did much with strength training, so these workouts have been a whole new world for my body. We work a lot with kettlebells, TRX, and some high intensity interval trainings (HIIT!). The trainers are all so great to work with and are uplifting and motivating for every single person at every single session. When you are there you really feel like they just want the best for you and they want to do everything they can to help you reach your goals. They listen to you if you have any pains and work around it so you can still workout.

During week 3 I actually pulled my right quadricep pretty bad to the point where it hurt to walk for a couple of days. Normally, I would just take a few days off and let it heal, but with FNTS I was able to go in and workout with the trainers and not have to be delayed in my training. It was really great because running injuries have always stopped me in my path in the past!

Here is a picture posted by Frank Nash from a Saturday morning team conditioning session. So much energy!

Unfortunately, I don't know how to work the fancy muscle mass calc on my scale :(

7.00 inches overall

My size sixes all fit again! woo! Now gimme size 4!

Nutrition Status:

I have been sticking to a 1200 calorie diet consisting of mostly lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. I will sometimes throw in a whole grains serving once a week (usually after a running day).

SHAKES! I basically live off shakes. FNTS offers dotFit recovery shakes after each workout which are delicious and only around 200 calories. I also have been drinking the GNC Total Lean 25 shakes daily - lately for both breakfast and lunch. Then I have a normal balanced dinner.

I'm also slightly obsessed with Quest Protein Bars - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to be exact! These are gaining increasing popularity and are available at GNC. Perfect when you need a bite to eat on the go.

Struggles:

Weekends: Even though I have consistently been attending the Saturday morning team classes, it is nutrition on the weekends that is hard to stick with...

Grains: Mostly just cravings, because I loooove me some bread and pasta (true Italian), but it is always hard to limit grains. So far so good, but it is still a struggle!

Running: Since I've been doing so many workouts at FNTS I haven't been doing as much running. I did go for a run this past week and couldn't believe how much stronger and faster I felt! All the strength training is really paying off, but I need to hit the pavement a couple more times a week so I can keep up with distance and endurance.

I am officially a full time member of Frank Nash Training Systems and loving every day of it! I do have a before and after 30 days picture (that I'm pretty impressed with myself), but I don't want to post the progress pics until I reach my goal.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

We are in full planning mode with our wedding, I have been down a staffer at work, and we just recently bought our first home! Needless to say, life has been busy and I haven't had a second to post an update or any new recipes lately. I'm hoping that will change... but not likely until after the wedding :-)

Speaking of.... we have less than 5 months to go. Woo! My to do list is getting shorter by the weeks, but there is still a lot to be done. I seriously can't wait. My dress is perfection - that's all I really care about ha!

So with 5 months to go I have started my version of "Bridal Bootcamp". Time to get in the best shape ever! I started working out at a new gym called Frank Nash Training Systems (check it out!) and I am LOVING it! They provide nutrition support, personal strength training sessions, and classes like team conditioning.... an intense 30 minute workout.

In between gym days Matt and I are running a lot. I typically do around 3-5 miles, but Matt has been doing 6-7. We have been having fun exploring different routes and paths in our new neighborhood. As much as we miss the city it is nice to be able to run on much less busy streets.

As far as my diet goes, I have been sticking to a max of 1200 calories per day, which hasn't changed the actual food I eat much, just the amount. Matt and I have always tried to stick to clean eating, so lean protein, organic produce, and I have to limit my intake of grains. The Italian in me hates that part, but it will all be worth it. I already feel much stronger, but don't get me wrong.... the first few workouts at Frank Nash were intense. My sister and I could barely walk after! It always amazes me that no matter how much I run I am still not using so many of my leg muscles. Kettle bells and squats all the way!!

I'm hoping all the strength training I'm doing will also benefit my running so I can finally make it to race a half marathon! The last two times I was almost there... 9 miles down, then something happened. Gotta love running injuries. I'm sure that getting stronger throughout will help prevent that this time.

I had Matt take my "before" pictures for this time around... hoping for awesome results! And I also can't wait to compare to my original before pictures... that should be good!

I'd like to do another post on Frank Nash Training Systems and give some more detail about the workouts, so that will be coming soon!

Monday, September 30, 2013

I have never been a huge fan of eggplant, most likely because I have never cooked it right! It is so important to salt and let the water drain from the eggplant before you cook with it....makes a world of a difference.

This recipe is taken from Gina at SkinnyTaste - you can click the link below for all the instructions. I followed them almost exactly, except I used my own TLS friendly tomato sauce. This recipe is a bit time consuming (but so worth it) and would be best for a weekend cooking sesh. You can make a bunch all at once and freeze it!! That makes an easy weeknight meal.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

I'm back!...sort of :) I have been very busy with my CPA exams the last few months and have had no chance to blog at all. I am happy to inform you I am half way to a CPA! Two exams passed, two more to go. I will likely still be MIA until I pass the final two, but I just HAD to come back and tell you about the Dirty Girl Mud Run here in Boston! And I also just got back from a vacation in Ireland, so I will share some pictures as well in another post :)

Just a bunch of girls gettin' muddy to support breast cancer research! We are hoping to recruit a much bigger team of "Pretty Little Mudders" for the 2014 race, so leave a comment or email me if you are interested!